Childhood Friends
by ConfusedColumbia26220
Summary: A bit of something more to Into The Woods, hidden between the lines. For all the WitchxBaker lovers. Oneshot. Pretty lengthy. Hope you all enjoy - review if you see fit.


**Disclaimer: - Do we really have to write these all the time? Seriously, it's getting old. I don't own, and I'm pretty sure everyone who's a member of fanfiction doesn't own the material that they're writing about. **

**AN: I decided to water this section a little so hopefully it will bloom some more. **

Once, in a village far away, within woods whom no one is sure exactly of their location, there lived a witch. Her name was Leanette. Sometimes the children of the village would tell scary stories about her that had been passed on for so long there was no possible way they could be true. They thought her to be an ancient witch, immortal, who had been living in the woods since the beginning of time.

This is not true. She was born into her powers, as were all of the witches in her family before her. She was in no way ancient; she hadn't reached the middle-age yet. Nevertheless, people were frightened of her. After her mother died she was completely alone. No one befriended her. If she made her presence known around others, they'd run off. She often regretted being born, and cursed to being a witch. Why couldn't she be normal, like everyone else?

One day though, hope showed through. A family moved into the house next door. The family consisted of a mother, father, and a boy about her age. Leanette would sometimes look through the window and watch him as he did various things outside, becoming instantly fascinated with him. This boy is none other than Ben the baker in his younger years. Before Marvelle, his future wife came along.

A day came when Ben heard the rumors about the person living in the house next door. "I'd be careful," they'd said. "You live next door to an evil witch. The last family who lived in your house crossed paths with her and were never seen again," Ben refused to believe this. He shrugged it off and tried not to think any more about it.

The problem with Ben's plan was that two days after he'd heard the terrible rumor, he started wondering. It was nagging at his mind for so long that he had to investigate himself. He headed over to the 'evil witch's' house. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous as he knocked on the door.

Leanette, who had been watching him through the window, had seen him coming. She wondered why. Why was he approaching rather than fleeing? She cautiously opened the door.

Ben was automatically smitten by Leanette's beauty. He hadn't known that such beauty ever existed. He had to recollect himself as not to sound like a stammering fool. "Um, hi," he began. "I'm Ben. My family just moved in next door about a week ago,"

"I know," Leanette replied. Wow. He was actually introducing himself to her. She was grateful for his kindness, even though it was foreign for her. Ben looked confused so Leanette explained, "It's not often a new face pops up in the woods, and you're a new face. It's always big news around her when another family moves in,"

Ben thought she was normal enough. "Well, I've come here because a couple days ago someone told me a few odd things –"

Leanette should've known. She should've known that people would never change. No one would ever be nice to her. "I know where this is going. Stop right there, and go away," she shut the door in his face and leaned against it. She felt a painful ache in her chest and tears welled up in her eyes. She thought that maybe he would be different from everyone else. It was too much to hope for.

Ben felt bad; he certainly knew that what he'd heard was false now. He raised his voice so it carried into the house. "I just wanted to let you know that I don't believe it,"

Had Leanette heard correctly? Was there finally someone that was on her side? She opened the door again. "What was that?" she asked, certainly not wanting to get her hopes up for nothing.

"I said that I don't believe what I heard," Ben repeated.

Leanette smiled. "Thank you,"

**ITTAKESTWOITTAKESTWOITTAKESTWOITTAKESTWOITTAKESTWO**

Years later, when the whole mess began, Leanette thought back on that day. When his mother became pregnant again she let his father get away with stealing the beans, but when Marvelle came into Ben's life and completely stole their friendship away she became angry. That was when the curse had began.

There they were. She watched the group bicker, trying to place the blame on someone for the giant's destructive arrival. She had tried a million times to make it go away by giving it what it wanted, but they wouldn't let her. Because of it Rapunzel was dead. Just like Marvelle, although Leanette couldn't honestly say she missed her much. She listened as Ben, Jack, Cinderella, and Little Red argued about whose fault it was. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Everyone – shut _up!_" Everyone stopped talking and stared over at her in shock. "The one who caused this whole thing is dead. It's pointless arguing amongst what's left of us," This confused anyone.

"Who?" they asked collectively.

Leanette looked right into Ben's eyes as she answered, "Marvelle," Everyone gasped, save for Ben who was staring at her with a confused and angry expression on his face. "She is the reason why this started," she was talking directly to Ben, forgetting about everyone else. "On top of your father's little stunt, and the fact that I had become a distorted, ancient-looking figure - you _completely _cut off contact with me after you met her. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to have your one friend leave you? The one person who actually cared, and the one person you cared about?" she had momentarily forgotten about Rapunzel. "Tell me; do you know how that feels?"

Ben didn't know he'd mattered that much to her. "I didn't think –"

"You're right! You didn't think. You didn't once stop to think that I actually need you," notice the present tense. Her voice was loud and high pitched and then she took off, running deep into the woods. Everyone stared after her in shock.

Ben spoke up. "You three try to figure out a way to stop the giant," he then took off on the same path as Leanette.

Leanette tore through the trees until she was too tired to run any more. She didn't want to face him, or see his reaction after openly confronting her real feelings. She sank to the forest floor not trying or being able to stop her tears. She wished the giant would come her way and end her misery.

It was getting darker in the woods, and harder to see. There was still light though. He eventually came upon Leanette; the sounds of her crying helping him get to her faster. He quietly approached her, not wanting to startle her. He felt an enormous pain in his chest as her sobs went on. "Leanette?" he asked tentatively.

Leanette heard a voice but dismissed it to be her imagination playing tricks on her again. However, when she felt a hand on her back she knew she hadn't imagined it, and she knew it was Ben. She looked up to him and then clung on to him, not wanting to let go. "Please don't leave. Please don't leave. Please don't leave," she repeated over and over again.

"I won't," Ben promised. He recognized what he was feeling. It was what he had felt for Marvelle, only stronger. It was love, he came to realize. He did love Leanette. "Please calm down," he was afraid to say the wrong thing. He felt extremely awkward around tears that was why he always handed his son over to Marvelle when he'd started to cry.

"I can't," Leanette protested, burrowing her head deeper into him. She had spent too many years holding pent up emotion. She couldn't stop now that the bottle had cracked and was leaking. "I love you too much and you – you don't even care,"

Ben lifted her head up more so she could see into his eyes, not so much that he could see into hers. "Leanette, that is not true," he told her with a strong, steady voice. "I do care. I also return your feelings. I love you," Even though she doubted it, Leanette chose not to argue. She chose to believe. She was too broken to add self-inflicted pain. She brought her lips to his, something she had wanted to do for years. Ben didn't fight it. He kissed her back. He wondered if maybe he had married the wrong woman after all.

"Thank you for coming back, Benny," Leanette thanked him. She hugged him tightly. There they stayed. The giant seemed to have left on it's own, and all was well with their solitude deep into the woods.


End file.
